NEW YORK: The volume of sugar Brazilian mills have hedged using futures contracts in New York has soared to 80.5% of their expected exports in the 2021/22 season, way ahead of average for this time of the year, according to a report released on Friday.

Archer Consulting, a firm that advises sugar companies on hedging strategies, said mills in Brazil have also advanced on price fixation for the 2022/23 crop, hedging around 25% of their projected exports for that season.

According to the consultancy, last year at this time Brazilian producers had hedged 51% of sugar exports. In previous years, that volume stayed between 30% and 45%. The reason for such a large hedging is rising sugar prices at the exchange and the depreciation of the Brazilian real, which increased mills’ gains in local currency.